KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — The aftermath of a significant community event over the weekend has left residents of Kershaw County grappling with increased concerns over litter.
"I just can't imagine you know, doing something and just dropping your stuff on the floor. It's not good for the environment," expressed Jennifer Follmer, Kershaw County Resident.
Follmer's frustration reached a peak following the Lights of Lugoff Parade last weekend. Despite the strategic placement of trash cans, the Lugoff Fire Department along with the county had to undertake cleanup efforts for those who didn't use the bins.
"They shouldn't have to pick it up, you know they shouldn't have to do it, " Follmer remarked.
According to county officials, preventive measures were taken before the parade, including setting up bleachers and strategically placing trash cans.
Assistant Fire Chief Will Catoe and his team were actively involved in the cleanup efforts the day after the event.
"We do more than just fight fires we run medical calls with EMS, we run wrecks, but we also do community events anything we can do to make it look better," stated Catoe. "[Sunday], when we were picking up the trash, we did have two calls that we had to run during, while we were out here picking up trash. It would really help if people would just put the trash in the receptacles that are put out here days before it would help us from being out there and taking us away from a delayed response from a call."
Acknowledging the pervasive nature of litter county-wide, Kershaw County Council Member Derek Shoemake is set to propose an ordinance aiming to significantly raise fines for littering offenses.
"It was already on schedule that Lugoff Fire, Public Works, Solid Waste along with county folks would do some clean up although they should not have to do the clean up they did," says Shoemake. "In January I am going to propose an ordinance that would increase the minimum fine for littering from $25 to a mandatory $250, that's a tenfold increase it would also add in 4 mandatory hours of community service,"
Follmer voiced her support for the proposed fine increase and called on residents to express gratitude to the first responders and cleanup crews for tackling the challenging task of maintaining a cleaner environment.
"I want to thank them for cleaning it up, to make our county look better, once again everyone just has to do their part," Follmer concluded.
As part of the ongoing efforts to combat littering, the recently approved Clean Community Commission will send letters to those accused of dumping trash, provided they can substantiate the claims.